I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Doña Ana County Commissioners Kent Evans, right, and Bill McCamley, second from right, are shown here in April 2007 celebrating the passage of a tax increase to help fund Spaceport America with Gov. Bill Richardson, left, and others. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
LAS CRUCES — Outgoing Doña Ana County Commissioners Kent Evans and Bill McCamley touted improvements in the government during their tenures during their last official meeting today.
Evans, a Republican, and McCarmley, a Democrat claimed they had transcended partisanship in dealing with corruption and winning approval of the Spaceport.
McCamley is leaving the commission on Dec. 31, after four years, because he chose to run for Congress instead of seeking re-election this year. He narrowly lost in the Democratic primary to Harry Teague, who went on to win the seat. Term limits prevented District 4’s Evans, who has served eight years, from running again, so the Republican ran against Democratic state Rep. Jeff Steinborn this year, but was unsuccessful.
A more ethical government
Evans recalled that when he took office, Doña Ana County was plagued by constant scandal and turmoil.
“In my first three years in office, the board went through four county managers, and the instability caused by the churn at the top effectively paralyzed the organization and fed the press with stories of ineptitude and cronyism,” Evans said. “Through it all, I worked hard to be a peacemaker and a deal broker who could stop the fighting and steer the ship toward effective local government. It was a long struggle, and I didn’t always win the battles, but I never gave up on the challenge.”
Eight years later, he and McCamley both said, county government is running more ethically and efficiently.
“I’m proud of the way this commission has evolved, and of the way that the partisanship has been cast aside in favor of actual progress on meaningful issues,” Evans said.
Among the accomplishments McCamley cited were the deal that resolved decades of legal battles with Sunland Park and cleared the way for development of the Santa Teresa area; a rewrite of the county ethics policy; dramatic improvements in the county’s health-care system and elections process; and the funding of Spaceport America.
Evans said he’s also proud of the county’s new government center, which resulted in a consolidation of all county offices into one building and a more efficient operation.
McCamley and Evans have both been champions of the spaceport project, and Gov. Bill Richardson recognized them for their work on behalf of it and a tax increase to help fund it. At the meeting, McCamley acknowledged that the project has been controversial, “but it looks like it’s actually going to work and bring a lot of jobs and educational opportunities to Doña Ana County.”
McCamley called for the commission to continue to focus on growth and the completion of the region’s Vision 2040 plan, economic development including the spaceport, fiscal responsibility and communication and cooperation with other governments.
And he had a message for all county residents:
“In a democracy, the policy, the conversation, shouldn’t be about (the elected officials). It should be about you, the people in this room today, or watching on TV, or reading about these meetings in a newspaper or on the Internet. You are the ones who decide what you like and what you don’t like about your community, and you are the ones with the power to change it. I ask you, if you are involved, stay that way. If you aren’t, get active, because that is the way a community stays alive,” he said. “… It’s all about taking responsibility for your city, your county, your state and your nation. We need everybody to make this country work.”
As I’ve disclosed in the past, I’m friends with McCamley. Click here to read more about that.
